Rocks thrown

Yesterday in one of their rare recent good performances the West Indies cricket team beat home team Bangladesh at the Cricket World Cup and then

Angry Bangladesh fans, whose team was bowled out for 58, the lowest total by a Full Member at a World Cup, threw stones at both team buses, cracking two of the West Indian team buses windows. None of the players were injured. 

Now I don't intend to make a mountain out of a molehill here but I wasn't pleased with these comments by International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Haroon Lorgat:

Lorgat played down the incident, calling it "minor," and explained why it was not as serious as had been originally reported. "It was a few individuals who threw pebbles at the bus, and they were pebbles." 

 Well I guess it must have been a whole truckload of pebbles to be cracking the glass on these buses which I assume would have been reinforced in some way.

Budget

The Barbados budget just came down and its pretty brutal. VAT going up, fees, bus fares all sorts of other taxes going up, taxes added. Lashes galore! Going to be a tight Christmas.

Well people, sadly things tight all over the world not just in Bim and with tourism our main money earner not doing that great these days, belts got to be tightened cause ya can only borrow for so long before ya got to pay back right? Unfortunately some of these belt tightening measures will disproportionally hit the most needy in our society like the poor and the pensioners but well star, I don't know what ya can really do about that besides hope that some of these measures temporary.

What I do always find interesting come budget time is how the party in opposition always finds a way to blame the current party when such belt tightening measures are necessary as indeed they do seem to be in this circumstance with the globe still deeply mired in recession. I guess that's the meaning of opposition but in particular today I find some of the comments about waste by the opposition BLP commentators to be rather disingenuous.

The numerous projects at Ilaro Court; the opening of the housing estate at Marchfield, St Philip; the three reshuffles, which necessitated change in stationery, labels and the like; the more than $10 million in summer camps between 2008 and 2009; the launch of the constituency councils; the subsidy to JetBlue and the recent female boxing championship were among the things on the list of “cardinal errors” Forde said the Government made.

Eh eh but allya really believe Bajans have short memories nuh? And maybe they do but umm we can't talk waste in Barbados without referring to the colossal waste of funds used for World Cup 2007.

And yes I tell wunnah from evasince (back when people used to read this blog) that hosting the world cup was going to hurt we financially. Ya doan believe me looka this post from 2006. And that was even before I hear that about half billion dollars spend in Barbados on world cup. And what did we benefit from that massive outlay of funds? And how much a those funds are still owed back to the people we borrowed from?

And who was running government then? Exactly!

So doan get tie up that the new government spend a few dollars for children summer camps to keep the youts off the road, occupied and out of the road this past year when the previous regime spent bigger dollars that haven't really benefited the country.

Folk get tied up in thinking that these financial predicaments that we find ourselves in usually occur rather quickly but if one really studies it, these things occur by a series of mistakes or bad fiscal moves over a longer period of time. How long the whole American mortgage drama was happening before the whole US housing market implode? Same thing here with Barbados, its not like things were great yesterday or last year and we woke up this morning struggling cause of one spending spree. Barbados was borrowing and spending for a long time beyond its means and its just now that it catching up to us.

WI vs Bangladesh

The real tragedy isn't that the once mighty (a long long time ago) West Indies team was beaten today by bottom of the rung Bangladesh. You can excuse that given that the team calling itself West Indies for this match was made up of has beens, never was-es and rank newcomers who had been pulled together at the 11th hour when the regular team went on strike.

Call them scabs or whatever you want for crossing the picket line they still went out and tried their best and managed to be competitive which is more than you can say for the regular West Indies team sixty percent of the time.

No, The real tragedy is that two sides which should have the best interests of West Indies cricket at heart and work together towards getting our team back to the top have somehow in recent years found a way to always manage to screw over the game and embarrass the West Indian public and fans on numerous occasions.

I've lost count of the number of attempted strikes, most called on the brink of a test series by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) after talks with the WICB have broken down, that have occurred recently and while both sides innocently try to play the victim it is us the cricket fans who are forced to suffer.

From one perspective its actually somehow reminiscent of my childhood playing in de road or on the cow pasture when a bats owner might get vex when he got out and would pick up bat and go home finishing the game prematurely and leaving the other children just hanging their heads, hangs in pockets standing looking stupid, wishing they had their own bats and cricket equipment. Own way team quits field over dispute or in this case just decides not to play cause they want a better deal.

And who's to blame? I mean its a given these days that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is incompetent. The public is well aware of that fact. Numerous changes in personnel seem to have done nothing for its professionalism or its outlook on the game but at the same time the Board is not the only guilty party here. WIPA is just as guilty if not moreso for holding the great game for ransom, picking up their bats and going home, especially with their penchant for last minute seemingly out of the blue strikes.

And I not calling no names but lets look at this thing from another angle too. WICB presidents have come and gone, WICB CEOs and management teams have come and gone, Team captains have come and gone and the problems and somehow WIPA president Ramnarine still remain. I aint saying its his fault but hey if you looking for commonality in all the disputes well.........

As I said somewhere else appearance counts a lot in the business world. Its not just enough to be right but one must also appear to be right. That's where good PR comes in. Not saying that WIPA is correct in this impasse but WIPA definetly doesn't do good PR. Threatening to strike at the 11th hour, just before an international series is to begin, giving the general public little notice about your issues and the reasons for the strike isnt good PR and it doesn't win you fans. It just makes you look like petulant children forever playing a game of brinkmanship.

All told though, I'm not really surprised. No one really cares about the game or the fans unless they stop paying to watch games. Its all about the cash these days and one can see it from the lackluster on the field approach by the players. Not that players shouldn't be fairly compensated but at the same time, it would be nice to see some effort, grit, determination and perhaps a sprinkling of love for the game shine though. Oh and some pride. We used to have a proud team when we were on top what seems like a long long long time ago. They wanted to win, they cared about winning, they realized what winning meant to the West Indian public. Not so anymore.

Now West Indies cricket just sucks. Go on with your strikes and disputes, alienate the few remaining fans you have why don't you. Keep it up and you soon wont have any kingdom to fight over.

Thank you WIPA and WICB for killing our cricket. You're both doing a bang up job! Keep it up.

51

So rarely do I get to celebrate anything regarding West Indies cricket these days. The team generally sucks but yesterday we beat England by an innings and 23 runs bowling out England in their second innings for a paltry 51. First win against England in a test match in 9 years apparently.

Shades of glories past it was. Revenge for us being bowled out for 47 in 2004. And further proof that cricket really is a game of glorious uncertainties as the cocky British didn't give us a chance before this series started and assumed this would be a blitzkrieg.



And even though the English will now return with every single excuse under the sun to downplay our emphatic victory, since former colonies should never be better than colonizers, and even though our team could prove this to be a one off wonder and go back to sucking tomorrow, as likely they will, there is something supremely satisfying about sticking it to the mother country and wiping the smiles off their oh so smug faces.

Take that England!

Congrats West Indies!

Taylor routs England for 51

England Capitulation, Clueless and Shameful

Things I learned

last week.

One - I really don't feel like blogging these days.

Two - Burma ie Myanmar has a population of 47 million. I always thought it was pretty small place to be honest. I mean I don't think I've ever met a Burmese yet and this is Toronto where you meet everyone.

Three - There is a thin line between love and hate. Case in point, jilted girlfriend and family hires assassins to knock off ex boyfriend who was going to get married in India.

Four - Marlon Samuels is an idiot.

Five - I'm still hoping for a Spurs vs Pistons finals to drive David Stern to the madhouse.

Its just a game

Or is it?

I kind of wondered about that today after reading that Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer died in Jamaica this morning. One can only speculate as to what really happened until official statements are made but you've got to wonder.

Pakistan one of the supposed stronger teams in world cricket go down on St. Patrick's day (Saturday) to the Irish in a shocker. Knocked out of the Super 8's barely a couple of days into the Cricket World Cup tournament. Oh man! Who, even if you were Irish, would have imagined that outcome?

The first thing that popped into my head yesterday whilst following the games online as Pakistan lost to Ireland and India another powerhouse team lost to lowly Bangladesh was wow cricket truly is a game of glorious uncertainties as its often billed. The second thing that popped into my head was I really feel sorry for those Pakistani and Indian players and coaches. I mean us folks in/from the Caribbean take our cricket seriously but no way near as fanatical as those from the sub-continent. I think the only thing that can compare to their zeal for cricket is the South American passion for futbol.

Yep, I was thinking, those players may be in some trouble at home. Heads will roll and knowing of some of the previous reactions by fans when those teams have lost games well I figured I wouldn't want to be any of those players or their families right about now. Indeed reading the news today where one player's home was attacked in India and there were protests in Pakistan calling for the arrest or death of the coach and captain I just wasn't really that surprised by the reactions. Yea those reactions are a bit over the top but similar have happened before.

Still I thought yea its all just a game isn't it? Its just some stupid fans really don't get that point and realize that its really not about life and death.

But in this case with coach Bob Woolmer it looks like it was about life and death. His death. I mean I can't say definitively that it was the stress of losing and seeing his team knocked out of the competition, or the thoughts of facing the music back in Pakistan that killed him but on first glance that would seem to be the case. One day he's a loses a game, the next he loses his life. Life... and death sure are funny ain't they. Puts a lot of stuff in perspective. When you lose a game you always have a chance to bounce back somehow although it may take some time. However when you lose you life? Well ain't no real bouncing back from that one I suppose.

Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt they say. Well someone did get hurt, hurt so much they died so have the fun and games stopped?

Woolmer was a coach so sports was his job and maybe we can chalk this up to job stress. Wouldn't be the first chap to die from that nor will he be the last. Still for all the money and prestige and endorsements and pride involved we still just think of sports as just sports. Its supposed to be intense but not that intense that you die. Its still supposed to be about fun. You give your all on the field and in your preparation to be on the field but its still just a game isn't it? We don't think too much about the folks who take it that much to heart. The folks who lose sleep and weight, and whose blood pressure rises or whose health suffers from sports do we.

I still say its all a game but damn if a game, its results and its repercussions don't put life in perspective.

March Madness

What can I say this March is a great month for sports.

Not that March isn't usually a great month for sports but this March is made even better by the Cricket World Cup. Look! West Indies won yesterday over Pakistan so forgive me for being slightly happy for a moment. Tomorrow I can get back to cussing the islands for wasting money on this event and robbing patrons with outrageous prices at the concession stands but today........

Well today I'm trying to follow Australia vs Scotland and Kenya vs Canada. Yea not the stuff of sporting legends but every game counts towards the big picture. Thank God for the Internet which makes it possible for me to get ball by ball scores and even radio coverage and sometimes video feeds of the matches. I still remember back in the days, before the Internet, having to call home or use that Toronto Star phone service (Can't remember the name. Was it Star Phone?) which gave you match updates all at its own pace just to find out how my team was doing.

Anyway besides cricket the other great thing about every March is the NCAA March Madness tournament. To paraphrase Dick Vitale or in the immortal words of Austin Powers. Yeaaaaa baby!

You don't understand my love of March Madness do you? How often to you get to watch 32 basketball games in two days or any sporting event where in every game played each team is literally playing for their tournament life? Its win or get the bleep outta Dodge. Yea the NBA is cool especially a nice game 7 of a playoff series but March Madness that starts off with like 32 game 7's in 2 days. Now that's fantastic!

I usually take the first two days of March madness off. Why? Well its just an exceptional time of year and a great time to veg out. You don't understand my fanaticism do you? Why I'm still trying to plan how I'm going to get a decent lunch tomorrow and not miss any games from my couch.

I mean March Madness just sucks me in. This is the time of the year where I just tell people I'm ignoring them; family, friends, children it don't matter. Don't mess with my March Madness focus.

From the time the brackets are announced I'm on it. Scouring the Internet for info, entering as many free pools as I can find (the days of putting money on this thing are long gone with my College days), chatting with anyone who may have actually watched more of the season unfold than the annual Duke, UNC game and thereby is ahead of me in terms of actual knowledge of what to except from the selected teams.

Trying to answer questions like whats the record of the top ranked teams? Who are the Cinderella teams? How many number 5s will be beaten by number 12s this year? Should I choose Number 9s over Number 8s? Which lower seeded player has the most NBA ready player? Where are those cursed Duke blue bas...... ummmm I mean devils ranked? Who or where exactly are Gongaza, Creighton, Holy Cross, Xavier, Old Dominion and George Washington?

And yes it is imperative that I watch as much of the games as possible. Its intense, its dramatic, its heartbreaking, its exhilarating, its big man crying over sports whether they win or lose, its 40 minutes of pure action down to the last second.

Plus how else can I, a few months hence, objectively sit and cuss NBA teams and GM's on draft day as they overlook proven College stars for long shots and European nobodies. How else would I have known that Dwayne Wade should have gone higher in the draft or that the Raptors should have held onto Kareem Rush instead of trading him for Chris Jefferies a few years back. With any luck I'll see the NBA stars of the future and make my predictions on not just the hyped ones like Kevin Durant and Greg Oden but some more obscure small forward or super quick point guard leading a mid major with grit and determination through the first round.

It gets no better than this folks.

Now to get back to my biggest dilemma. How do I follow cricket scores when the computer is upstairs but the TV and couch are downstairs.

Mmmmm ....... Food

Well World Cup cricket is starting Sunday in the Caribbean. Well actually it has started already but so far just warm up matches are being played.

Last year almost a year in advance I blogged about this event and questioned whether we, the people of the Caribbean, would actually see the highly touted economic returns from this event. That question remains I guess, we'll see in a few months or so.

Back then when I wrote that blog though, I was just thinking about the financial issues but now as things get going I'm starting to realize just how much more there is to this thing than I ever really thought about.

I mean yes the Caribbean isn't made up of first world countries but lawd ave mercy how far were we or did we go to accommodate our guests?

I mean I'm not saying don't accommodate people but at certain points you have to say no that cant fly and make the guests accept your policy too. Instead it just looks like we say to them in advance do whatever you want, we will accept whatever laws you see as fit without question after all don't mind us, is just we live here but you can act as if this is your own place.

What am I talking about? Well I wont even get into the silly story about bajan policemen getting searched at the cricket stadium in Barbados by cricket security people cause that one just too embarrassing to me. I had to hang muh head in shame when I read that.

No what I'm talking about is I see alot of us, as Caribbean people, giving up parts of our culture to host these games. The way we usually watch cricket was deemed not appropriate by the authorities and changes were/are being made.

Cant have all those horns and conch shells making noise in tourist ears. Cant say this, cant say that it might be offensive.

Then there is this whole issue with food. A fella cant even bring a drink of water into a stadium , cause they treating you like the airlines these days, searching you like immigration and nothing cant bring in ya hand or handbags. I guess they are worried about terrorists but still things seem mighty heavy handed.

Plus it seems like with these new security restrictions also applying to the immediate areas around the ground you cant even find a place outside the stadium to buy food or a drink so your only option is the concession stand.

How could we allow this? Ok I mean I understand to some extent the you cant bring in your own food point as the event coordinators want to sell you their expensive stuff from their concession stands and they will point out well you cant bring food into an NBA game or a NFL game or the like. True, good point but cricket could be seen as an exception here cause a cricket match isn't some three hour basketball game its a whole damn day. You go to cricket like you go to work. You get there at 9 or 10 in the morning and don't leave til after 5. Cricket is an outing. You need three squares at cricket, why ya think the players duz have water break, lunch break and tea break? Its not just for fun, its that its a long game and just like the players need their nutrition I think the spectators need theirs too.

Plus lets look at this culturally. Anybody at all who knows traditional West Indian cricket knows that cricket is an outing, a picnic, a lime even and people go into a cricket ground with a picnic basket, or a cooler with a whole heap of food for not only them but in most cases to share with others. Anyone who has heard Paul Keens Douglas' Tanti Merle at the Oval and been to a cricket match knows that his humorous tale contains only slight exaggerations on the girth of the picnic baskets and coolers that people used to bring to cricket back in the days.

Look even a small bony man like myself would walk with two or three hamcutters, a litre a Pine Hill juice, some fish cakes and some other drinks and that is just for me alone. Plus ya done know that if the spirit hit me that food didn't seeing lunch time at all. It might not even mek it past water break.

Ok I'm just joking but the point is Cricket in the Caribbean has always been more than a game Going to an international match is a social event alot more so than say going to a basketball or hockey game in North America. Why? Because you are at cricket the whole day, plus the islands are small and chances are you will definitely see somebody auntie or cousin that you know or somebody that used to work with you 10 years ago and you will get to chat and converse with them at the game. Its hard to make friends at something that you're just going to for for two intense hours like basketball but a cricket match you have ebbs and flows in the on field action so you might sit down next to a complete stranger in the morning and start chatting during a lull in play and by tea you are buying them drinks or borrowing their transistor radio to find out exactly how the commentators say the man was lbw when you see clearly he play bat and pad.

Also at cricket sometimes the play in the stands duz be more exciting than the play on the field too.

Cricket is a social event, a chance to make friends, to cuss, weep, jeer, praise, even chat up the odd woman or two. It is also a chance to eat and drink and eat and drink you must cause you're there for an entire day, you really don't have a choice unless you're fasting.

So no you cant just expect a fella to sit down in a stand for 6+ hours and suck on air or alternatively pay really exorbitant prices every couple of hours to get something to eat. Man that will get very expensive and annoying (as the patrons line up) for the patrons real quick.

Now look I'm not saying let a guy bring in enough food to feed the 5000 but did the planners think about the absolute and draconian measures they were instituting regarding the entry of food and drink and how it affects the fans. Surely some allowance could have been made for even say two bottles of water or a couple of fish cakes to be brought in. Cuhdear!

To me it just feel like we Caribbean people, or whoever it was at the table representing we when they were negotiating the event parameters, just sit down and nod their head to every proposal that was given by the International cricketing bodies without expressing any sort of issues they might have with the parameters.

Ya know what I'm saying?

But then again who am I to complain, ya cant live in the old times. I guess this is the price of progress.